Parokya ni Edgar has been around for years. It all started when Chito Miranda, still a high school student in Ateneo, together with four schoolmates, formed a band known as Comic Relief. Now, this "trip-trip lang" band has evolved to what the whole Philippines calls Parokya ni Edgar. This combo, whom the people laughed at during their prehistoric Club Dredd days because of their outfits, has won numerous awards and recognitions, despite of their disinterest in popularity (so it seemed). Pretty impressive, huh?
At present, Parokya ni Edgar is composed of Chito (lead vocalist), Vinci Montaner (back-up vocalist), Darius Semaņa (lead guitarist), Gabriel Cheekee (rhythm guitarist), Buhawi Meneses (bassist), and Dindin Moreno (drummer) -- AS IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW!
Anyway, these people, in addition to being very funny, have also the asset of intelligence. Darius has finished UP Fine Arts in 1996. I'm not sure if the others has finished their courses, but since they study in UP, one can conclude that they're smart boys, right?
Maybe more than a few of you already know the history behind their name. Just to inform the others, they got it from one of Chito's classmates when he was asked where Crisostomo Ibarra was studying. That classmate replied, "Sa Parokya ni Edgar." LOL!
How 'bout the title of their first album? Khangkhungkherrnitz originated from Gab's girlfriend that time, Mary Ann. Ewan ko nga lang kung bakit hinirit n'ya 'yon.
So what's up with their songs? As in trip lang ba talaga? Of course! Heheheheh, well may mga story, syempre. Their inspirations are their own experiences, with the addition of their familiar humorous touch. Like in the song Bato in Khangkhungkherrnitz, Chito was just bored out of his mind when he wrote that. In Tatlong Araw, Chito courted a girl for two years. She became his girlfriend on April Fool's Day. After you-already-know-how-many-days, she broke up with him. Ouch.
Paparap is not a love tune, as the song itself implies. Chito just made it into one, siguro para mas maganda pakinggan. It is about a girl Chito was so irritated with, but now she's one of his best friends. Before, he thought she was a bitch; she thought he was, like, squatter. But in the end they found out that they thought wrong.
Maniwala Ka Sana was composed by guess who for one if his girl friends. When Chito courted her, she became, uh, um... -- ano bang English ng nailang? Basta nailang 'yung girl!
That's Entertainment was their inspiration for Pangarap Ko Sa Buhay. Now this is a song na parang talagang trip lang! Pero ang talagang trip-trip lang ay 'yung Lab Sung. Chito wrote it for fun lang, then he let his older sis hear it. Siguro nagustuhan, then pinarinig ni Chito 'yung song sa bandmates n'ya. Then suddenly they decided to include it in the album, even though they didn't have the intention of doing so in the first place.
Nakaw ang Wallet Ko was written by Jeric, one of the founding members. They were drinking booze that time, and they were all probably drunk already. Jeric was singing those nonsense lyrics, and they took note of these. Hence, the birth of the song.
The Crush is about an obese girl who has an unpleasant personality. OK na daw sana yung fat part eh, pero ang pangit pa daw ng ugali.
And what about Lutong Bahay? Didn't Chito's mom get offended? Hahahahaha, no way! She laughed when Chito let her hear it! Cool 'yung mom n'ya, hindi gaya ng mom ko... heheheheheh.
Buloy's history must be very familiar to most of you, but there may be some things you may not know. Buloy, who was an FEU Fine Arts student, is a real person (definitely). Chito met him in Batangas, and super bait daw talaga. He became one of the band's close friends. When the song became a popular, he was still alive then. 'Yung nasa video ng Buloy, si Buloy talaga 'yon. He wasn't really dead that time, sa song lang, "to give it an ironic twist," as stated by Dindin. They didn't really use his persona, just his name. But in December 1996, Buloy committed suicide because of several personal problems he couldn't deal with. How sad! *Sniff sniff* The annoying part is, the band got featured in Balitang K and in Inquirer, accusing them of "killing" Buloy. Dindin also said that the they were "even making it look like the parents were blaming us." Tsk tsk tsk, ang media naman talaga o!
Now let's move on to their second album. Buruguduystunstugudunstuy was much awaited by fans, including me, of course. The first song I ever heard from that album on the radio was Silvertoes. This is about a girl whom Dindin was very annoyed with. "She is everything that the song describes," Dindin said. Then he pointed this girl to Chito, who in turn got inspired to compose a song about her.
Harana, of course, was composed by Eric Yaptangco, an Atenean who belongs to a batch ahead of the band's. It was an old famous traditional Atenean "ligaw" song. And, can you believe this, Toni Lambino (from Smokey Mountain) recorded this song about three years ago. PNE remade it, but they didn't really change the song's original form. As you would notice, puro acoustic guitar lang ang intrument, wala ng iba. PNE got the permission to rerecord the song, and in turn they should donate Eric's royalties to the charity. Wow, generous!
Anyway, there's this rumor that it was used in one of the Dulaang Sibol's plays. And, I have heard that may karugtong pa daw 'yon, pinutol lang daw ng Parokya. *Shrug*
Ever wonder whose voice was that in the filler Public Service #1? She's Jeng Bernardo, the daughter of Lorna Bernardo, the vice-mayor of Pasig. She's a friend of the band. She's from UP Fine Arts. And, she's a member of the UP Diliman Rowing Team. Amazing!
My cousin told me before na girlfriend daw 'yon ni Chito. Heheheheheh, I honestly don't know!